This invention relates to am improved system and method for distributing, utilizing and displaying disparate information in a xe2x80x9cpushxe2x80x9d technology environment to a set of subscribers. More particularly, it relates to adaptations of information usage that conditions a xe2x80x9cpushxe2x80x9d information system to optimally match and display headlines, information text, animations, graphics and photographs for the benefit of a user.
Push networks have been with us for several years. As contrasted with a user initiated search that starts fresh each time it is initiated, push technology brings new information to the user""s desktop once an initial selection of news or other information items has been selected by the subscriber/user. In short, push technology is a system wherein each subscriber receives information, files and/or advertising from a network server for display at their local workstation on a refreshed and dynamic basis whenever a predetermined criteria, usually involving idleness of the local workstation, is met.
Push technology, in its simplest form, can be considered to start with 28 electronic mail (e-mail), messages delivered to a user from almost any source once the 29 user""s e-mail identity and address have been established and made known. Another 30 barebones form of push technology is an Internet mailing list which causes subject related messages to be sent to a subscriber""s computer. A more robust and current manifestation of push technology is exemplified by the PointCast Network whereby information content and advertising is distributed via the Internet to client based subscribers for display as a screen saver after the subscribers""s workstation has been idle for a predetermined period.
In the PointCast Network, a user, employing locally installed push client software, subscribes to channels or topics of interest. Channels are information packaged in logical groupings. The user""s expressed preferences are captured in a subscriber profile that can subsequently be changed as desired by the user. The system allows each user to customize the operation of his or her own push client, controlling the kind of information the client retrieves from the server and, within prescribed limits, the frequency of such refresh operations. Basically, after establishing a profile, the user receives updated information either in response to automatic polling of the content server at specified intervals by the push client software or in response to the server sending immediate information updates to client software that has been enabled for such frequent feeds of information.
The PointCast Network is an integrated client/server system that is designed to provide current information, along with advertisements, in an interesting and useful manner. The ability to supply and display all sorts of information for a subscriber in a compelling manner and timely fashion is what distinguishes the leading push technology systems, such as the PointCast Network, from the simplistic stuffed window approach.
The basic PointCast Network system is described in commonly assigned and co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/489,591 filed Jun. 28, 1995 for an INFORMATION AND ADVERTISING DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AND METHOD in the names of J. Reilly and G. Hassett. That application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
With respect to improvements in the manner in which data communicated, directed and/or serviced in the PointCast Network system, please refer to commonly assigned and co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/795,476 filed Feb. 11, 1997 for AN APPARATUS, METHOD AND ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE FOR COMMUNICATING DATA BEHIND FIREWALLS AND PROXY SERVERS in the names of G. Hassett and J. Reilly, commonly assigned and copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/797,724 filed Feb. 11, 1997 for AN APPARATUS, METHOD AND ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE FOR REDIRECTING CLIENT REQUESTS ON A NETWORK in the names of J. Pistritto and K. Montinola and commonly assigned and co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/800,153 filed Feb. 13, 1997 for AN APPARATUS, METHOD AND ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE FOR SERVICING CLIENT REQUESTS ON A NETWORK in the names of G. Hassett and H. Collins. All three of these improvement patent applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. In the original PointCast Network system, an information server stored and updated a database of information items and advertisements. The information items and advertisements were each categorized so that each was associated with a specific information category. Workstations remotely located from the information server each included a display device, a communication interface for receiving at least a subset of the information items and advertisements from the information server""s database and local memory for storing the information items and advertisements received from the information server.
An information administrator in each workstation established communication with the information server from time to time in order to update the information items and advertisements stored in local memory with at least a subset of the information items and advertisements stored by the information server. An information display controller in each workstation caused the display on the workstation""s display device of at least a subset of the information items and advertisements stored in local memory when the workstation meets predefined idleness criteria.
At least some of the workstations were provided with a profiler for storing the subscriber profile data. The subscriber profile data represents subscriber information viewing preferences, indicating information categories for which a subscriber associated with the workstation does and does not want to view information items. The information display controller includes a filter for excluding from the information items displayed on the display device those information items inconsistent with the subscriber profile data.
The present invention is an apparatus and computer-implemented method for distributing information to a plurality of client devices on a network. The computer-implemented method includes the steps of: 1) receiving a variety of information from a plurality of sources, 2) organizing the variety of information into information categories, and 3) distributing the variety of information to the plurality of client devices based on the information categories requested by the plurality of client devices. The invention further includes the steps of: 4) accepting user input at the client device to specify information categories for retrieval from a server, 5) generating a user profile based on the information categories specified by the user input, and 6) retrieving information at predetermined intervals from the server based on the user profile.